Seek First the Kingdom of God - Loving

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SEEK FIRST THE KINGDOM OF GOD - LOVING

Pip’n’Jay 15 February 2011

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Seeking the kingdom objectives To understand God’s love and grace To grow in my love for God and his

ways To consider how to love my

neighbour To seek God’s heart how to serve To build God’s kingdom through love

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Seek God’s Kingdom here & now, as individuals & together Think about

Loving: Who? Why? Where? & How?

Pray to seek and understand answers for each of us:

By study & discussion of Bible verses

By inspiration/leading of the Holy Spirit

Sharing experiences

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Jesus commands – Who to love?

Mark 12 v Reading from verse 28 to verse 34 V29: “ …the Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the

Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength. The second is this: Love your neighbour as yourself. There is no commandment greater than these”

& verse 34 “You are not far from the kingdom of God”

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What is it to love God?

With all your heart and With all your soul and With all your mind and With all your strength = Every part of me!

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Why should I love? I respond to the grace of God I rejoice in the freedom of grace I use freedom to build up others I learn to serve others in love

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I use my freedom to …. “It is for freedom that Christ has set us

free” (Galatians 5:1) – Use the freedom. Galatians 5:13 “You, my brothers, were

called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the sinful nature; rather, serve one another in love.”

& 5:14 “The entire law is summed up in a single command: Love your neighbour as yourself.”

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I respond in obedience to 1 Corinthians 13:4-7 “Love is patient. Love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.

It is not rude, it is not self-

seeking, it is not easily

angered, it keeps no record

of wrongs.”

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1 Cor 13:4-7 “Love does not delight in evil

but rejoices with the truth.

It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always

perseveres.”

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How to love? With all my heart As prompted by

the Holy Spirit By myself quietly With others as a

team Achievement &

brokenness

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From Ephesians 4:32 - Forgive “ Be kind and

compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ, God forgave you.”

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Dear friends …. 1 John 4:7-12

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“This is how God showed his love among us; He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. This is love; not that we loved God , but

that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.”

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If we love one another ….

“No-one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us.”

(1 John 4:12)

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Dear friends …. 1 John 4:7-12

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Who is God calling me to love and where?

“Do the thing in front of you” – Where I am God will give me the desires of my heart What passions has He given me to build His

kingdom? Where else might God lead me? In the world, at work and in my spare time

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God has given me a heart for ….

Examples of God’s leading – 3 Testimonies

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The heart of God & my heart

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The heart of God God’s concerns for the plight of the poor What does God expect from me? Love the world, be with the sick, the

afflicted and the prisoners Embrace biblical justice for the

oppressed Reach out to the pain of the world with

the good news of Christ

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How well do we follow the heart of God? Do we:

Reach out to, welcome & support the poor? Feed the hungry? Welcome the stranger? Be with the sick and the afflicted? Visit and support the prisoners? Proclaim justice for the oppressed, the

persecuted and those in slavery?

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We serve God by serving others – Colossians 3:23-24“Whatever you do,

work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men, since you know that you

will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving.”

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“It is the Lord Christ you are serving”; are we Bringers of the good

news of Christ? Willing servants? Practical love to our

neighbour? Known for our love

for one another? Building His

kingdom?

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Actions in small groups (Ready to share answers) Pray for the Holy Spirit’s guidance Read and meditate on the Bible verse(s) Answer one or two questions as a group Discuss examples of love experienced What is God teaching me? Be ready to share your group’s answers

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Seeking the kingdom objectives To understand God’s love and grace To grow in my love for God and his

ways To consider how to love my

neighbour To seek God’s heart how to serve To build God’s kingdom through love